Jaco Pastorius Quotes

The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way.

If I'm playing a violin thing, for instance, I tend to respond to that sound with the way I finger.

A lot of people think the orchestra is playing and the conductor doesn't do very much, but the conductor's the person that gives shape to the music, gets the phrasing, and if he has really fine musicians in solo spots, the question is does he try to help them phrase, or does he let them go?

Just like using an instrument, a song calls for different things.

The right notes mean more than 1,000 mph arpeggios.

One learns how to change gears within a concert repertoire.

Mozart is always a bit of a challenge - you know, even though it is often given to very young singers, it is actually the most complicated to sing in many instances.

To me, the biggest notes and the longest notes are the easiest notes.

A good interpreter can take a piece of bad music and make it sound pretty decent, while a bad interpreter can take good music and make it sound cheap. I can tell that some people have a bad taste, and unlike on the piano, they smear around a lot, that is bad taste.

The soprano turned out to sound to me like the right hand on the piano.

Good taste - that's all you really need when you're playing an instrument.

It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.

But a large symphony orchestra basically is a repertory company and it has a very enormous repertoire and it is important for the performers to be able to know how to shift focus so that they instantly become part of the sound world that a particular repertoire demands.

The cello is such a versatile instrument. It can rock like the hardest rock guitar, and it can sing like the human voice. We couldn't do what we do without the classical training. It's a hard instrument to play. There are no frets, and it takes finesse and technique to play.

Since I first picked up the violin, I've been very interested in tone and texture: I would have very visceral reactions to the texture of a snare drum or a pedal steel guitar or a violin.

I don't think so, in so far as I always aspired to play the way I do now but just couldn't get the sounds out always due to technical limitations - now I can pretty much play what I hear in realtime.

Scales played in the correct musical way are very exciting and rewarding.

I was always pretty decent at fast stick work or doing stuff that seems impressive that's not really; I was pretty tasteful and had good ideas musically. But I had a terrible sense of tempo, which is like being a blind painter. The conductor would just rip into me, and it lasted for years.

If the orchestra's not enjoying itself, the concerto will not succeed, with the players confined to using half an inch of bow.

It is a real piece of art if you can make a waltz sound like it is the easiest piece of music to play, because it's really not.

No two notes are ever the same volume. With the guitar, you really have to model in your mind this wider thing; you're trying to create the illusion of a bigger dynamic range.

I've always been accused of moving around too much when I play concertos. Sometimes, conductors ask me which of us is leading.

To be honest, I'm one of the least-technical guitar players around. I just want a guitar to feel good and sound good. That's it, period.

It's been a thrilling journey - I have had to really learn that an orchestra is an entity - it's a creature. I have been calling it the dragon and the conductor is the dragon tamer. And you just have to... ride and don't let go and you will be fine.

Of course the most difficult thing on the violin is always intonation. The second one is rhythm. If you play in tune, in time with a good sound that's already high level. Those three are the main things.